January 25, 2021

Cherkizovo signs investment protection and promotion agreement for Lipetsk, Russia project

Cherkizovo Group has announced the signing of an investment protection and promotion agreement (IPPA) for the construction of an oil extraction plant in the Lipetsk Region.

The facility will cost RUB13.8 billion (US$183.1 million).

The agreement to construct a high-protein oilseeds processing plant in the Lipetsk Region was signed by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, local authorities and Cherkizovo-Masla (part of Cherkizovo Group).

The project will be implemented in two stages. The investment phase is set to be completed by mid-2022, at which time the oil extraction plant will be brought on stream. The second stage, which is slated to run until late 2033, will see the construction of infrastructure, including a railway line to and from the facility. By this point, the plant will have reached full processing capacity.

It is planned that Cherkizovo Group's facility will process soybeans and produce soybean oil, meal, lecithin and hulls. The plant's processing capacity is estimated at up to 480,000 tonnes per year. Once launched, the facility will create some 100 new jobs in the region.

Once the oilseed processing plant starts operation, Cherkizovo will become more self-sufficient in respect to feed ingredients, the company said. The plant will be constructed within the boundaries of the Yeletsprom special economic zone located in Yelets, the second largest city in the Lipetsk Region.

Production facilities constructed at Yeletsprom are eligible for a number of tax benefits and state support in the form of subsidised interest rates on bank loans.

- Cherkizovo